Sramanerika
Kuo Man, Shea Sau Chen, was born sixty-seven years ago in Shanghai, China, on
January 3rd, 1906. Her family was Buddhist, and her father was a vegetarian--a
practice she would not take up until she was forty-one. Hers was a benevolent
family, and Kuo Man especially is one always ready to help people in distress,
regardless of the consequences for herself. During the war years when food was severely rationed, Kuo Man gave up her
own shares on several occasions in order to help those less fortunate than
herself. In spite of this trait she is not a softy, when she raised her
children, she made them pay for their own pleasures, and has been described as
one who would rather throw money away than spoil her children with it. Nevertheless, a beggar was never turned away from the door without
something to eat, even during the war years when pickings were lean and the
hardships were everywhere and often severe.

After
meeting the Master and taking refuge (see this issue's Bodhi Lectern) she often
went to one of the Master's temples, Hsi Le Yuan Sse, to cultivate and hear the
Dharma. On one occasion she was horror-stricken when she looked outside and saw
that worms covered the ground and crawled in the trees. She didn't dare go
outside.

When
the day's cultivation was over she said to the Master, "Shihfu, I do want
to come back tomorrow, but all the worms scare me so much I actually become
paralyzed with fright. I'm not coming back." There were worms everywhere,
five or six crawling on each leaf of the peach tree near the building. And these
were no ordinary earthworms—they gave a sharp and painful sting if touched.

The
Master replied, "Don't worry, and don't be afraid to come tomorrow. When you get here, there won't be any insects."

The
next day she climbed the mountain with reluctant trepidation, but with enough
faith to get her to Hsi Le Yuan. When she arrived she saw that where the day
before there had been insects crawling all over the trees, dropping down over
the paths, and crawling all over the ground, today not a single insect was to be
seen. All the worms had vanished.

For
six years after she took refuge with the Master, on the first and fifteenth of
each month, she abstained from all food and only drank cold water. On one of
these days she planned to go to Hsi Le Yuan, but her son, Kuo Hsin, dissuaded
her, saying that it was too far to go without eating anything, and that the hike
up the mountain would be too difficult.

So
Kuo Man returned home, to make the hike up the six flights of stairs to their
apartment; the building had no elevator. As soon as she entered the building on
the first floor, however, she found herself suddenly on the sixth floor, outside
her door, without having climbed the stairs. She thought that this was so
strange that she immediately went to Hsi Le Yuan.

On
another occasion she became ill with a strange karmic disorder. No matter who
she met, she got a headache, and felt nagging fear. Consequently she became
reluctant to meet anyone.

Extremely uncomfortable, she saw many doctors, none of whom could help
her. Finally she told the Master, but he said, "It’s not time yet."

Finally
on the 14th day of the second month that year, although seriously
ill, she went to see the Master. He spoke with her and then told her to kneel
before the Buddha. After about a half an hour he rubbed her head. Kuo Man stood
up and found the disease had disappeared. Shihfu said, "You’re better now,
you can go."

A
few days later her mind became unsettled—uncomfortable. She went to see the
Master again, and he freed her from the demonic obstruction. From that time
until the present, even though she had been ill with a multitude of different
diseases earlier in her life, she has not become ill again.

Once
her son's wife had tuberculosis for the third time, an extremely severe case.
Most people familiar with this disease know that, before the wonder drugs, when
TB becomes active in a person for the third time, it is almost impossible to
cure, and is usually fatal.

Although
the son and his wife were both Protestants, he sought help from his mother,
asking her to seek the intervention of the Buddha. Kuo Man did so, and received
a prognostication saying, "Although the tree has gone bad, it can bring
forth flowers again." Her daughter-in-law got well, and subsequently had
three healthy children. She is now will and prosperous, and believing in the
Buddha.

Sramanerika
Kuo Man is an extraordinarily faithful and sincere disciple of the Buddha, and
has been completely devoted to her teacher, the Venerable Master Hua. She has
given more than generously to aid his propagation of the Dharma for more than
twenty years, and is one of the great Dharma protectors who has supported the
Master's work in both Hong Kong and America.

Earlier
in 1973 she left the home life under the Venerable Master, and accompanied by
her son and his wife, and his sister-in-law, came to San Francisco to draw near
to the Master and study with him. She cultivates extremely vigorously, and is an
inspiration to all who meet her. She is currently living and cultivating at the
Sino-American Buddhist Association.